Bike Safety Statistics and Rules

Each year 900 people die from injuries sustained in bicycle accidents and another 567,000 end up in hospital emergency rooms -- 350,000 of those are children under the age of 15.

Typically a child's injury in a bike accident involves head injuries that can cause death or lifelong disabilities.

Fortunately, there is one simple thing you and your children can do to prevent serious, life-threatening injury in a bicycle crash -- wear a helmet.

Bike helmets can reduce the risk of head injury in a crash by 85%. A broken arm mends. Scrapes and bruises heal. But a dead injury can be forever. Get in the "helmet habit" and make wearing a helmet a regular part of the biking experience for your whole family.

Here are some statistics everyone who rides a bicycle or parent of a child who rides a bicycle should be aware of:

57% of all riders don't wear helmets every time they ride.

40% of bike riders say they don't own a helmet.

41% of parents say their children always wear a helmet when riding.

Only 29% of children who ride bikes say they always wear helmets.

And for those of you who think helmets are not necessary when riding through neighborhoods:

More that 60% of childhood bicycle related fatalities occur on small neighborhood roads and streets.